Myungshik Kim

Professor Myungshik Kim

Research Fellow

Organisation

Imperial College London

Research summary

Quantum mechanics is well known for its unintuitive nature and strange paradoxes. The outcome of quantum mechanics research would ultimately inspire a profound new way of looking at the world and help us to develop many new inventions. My research in quantum mechanics is focused on:

1) In this strand of research I am interested in understanding macroscopic behavior of physics using first principles of quantum mechanics. 2) A strong motivation in my research is connecting theory to useful applications. One of the defining features of quantum theory is the possibility of state superposition and stronger than classical correlations. These allow for a definitive advantage over classical physics when implementing particular tasks related to precise clocks, accelerometers, medical sensors and information processing. One easy way to understand this is that the technology behind the most advanced sensors is interferometry. This can be significantly improved by using quantum-correlated fields. 3) Quantum mechanics has led to a number of paradoxes which do not manifest in our classical world. Many of these arise from the privileged status afforded to the observer and our inability to define a clear distinction between microscopic and macroscopic systems. I am working on the consistent theory to explain the quantum-to-classical transition based on operational randomness and uncertainties in the reference frame. It is also well-known that the general relativity and quantum mechanics do not agree at a very small scale. I work to propose table-top experimental schemes to test various theories of quantum gravity.